We’ve reported a number of times on the connection between UNRWA, the UN agency in charge of Palestinian “refugees,” and Hamas, the terrorist organization whose goal is to wipe out Israel. Today FrontPage Magazine has an article, Terror and the UNRWA, by Anav Silverman, that summarizes the vast amounts of aid money flowing into Gaza and the problems with it.
In recent years, billions of dollars have poured into Gaza from hundreds of countries and international organizations. How much of that money has actually reached Palestinian civilians, effectively improving their quality of life and economy, has yet to be completely determined thanks to vague audits and on-line information.
Only recently, with a relatively silent international press, have there been questions from top political leaders, primarily from US, about the way in which the donor money will be transferred into Gaza.
Here’s a small excerpt; there’s lots more if you want details.
Jonathan Halevi, a former IDF intelligence officer who specializes in Palestinian terrorist organizations, recently told Fox News that he estimates that 60 percent of homicide bombers are educated in UNRWA schools. Past UNRWA textbooks blatantly deny the Jewish connection to Israel and are filled with anti-Semitic remarks.
In any case, the United States remains UNRWA’s largest sponsor, providing the organization with over 75% of its initial budget according to UNRWA‘s former senior legal advisor, James Lindsay. Lindsay, who served as an attorney for the US Justice Department for two decades asserts in his publication for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy which came out on January 29 that UNRWA is providing services to those who are actually not in need of them.
The bottom line:
As the Gaza Strip soon teems with money, world donors and leaders must ask the following question: Who will monitor the transfer of these funds and account that they are indeed effectively used for Gaza reconstruction and not for restoring the Hamas terrorist infrastructure?
There’s no way our government can effectively monitor the funds. We need to stop pouring money into UNRWA unless and until they disassociate themselves from Hamas. And that’s not going to happen.